Media and the Olympic Games

I am sad to say that this is my first blog that doesn’t have anything to do with Brett Favre. Even though I really want to be writing something about Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, I can’t help but to write about the Vancouver Olympics. In this blog I will be writing about how the media is absolutely feasting over the 2010 Olympic Games. I will tell you why you are so glued to the Olympics, as well as what the media is reporting on in this go-around of the Olympic Games.

I have been watching the Olympics a lot lately. Some of the events I have been watching are events that I am not interested in. I find myself asking myself the same question over and over again. That question is; why would I possibly be watching things like figure skating? I came up with a very simple answer. I am watching these events not for the sport but for the individual stories behind the athletes. The media has found that they can pull our attention to certain events by pulling at our heart strings. They have picked up on a story for just about every athlete. Some of these stories have a great ending and some of them are very sad. There are the “feel good” stories of Alex Bilodeau who not only won the first Canadian gold on home soil, but won it for his brother Frederic Bilodeau (who has cerebral palsy). Who couldn’t be inspired by Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who came out of a two year retirement for one last shot at the gold medal in couple’s figure skating. It made it more of a “feel good” story when they actually won the gold. Along with the good stories, there are also the stories that just tear at your heart. One of these stories is the story of Lindsey Jacobellis, an American snowboard cross competitor. In the previous winter Olympics Lindsay was in the lead heading for gold when she lost her position by showboating. In this winter Olympics she fell short of her goal once again. The media absolutely loves this story, because they know how bad we feel about an Olympic athlete not meeting their goal. When these stories are not enough for the media to talk about, they pick up on funny or informational stories concerning the Olympics. Some of these stories include the Olympian who chipped his tooth by biting his medal, and what the Olympians are listening to on their iPods.

Other forms of media are using the Olympics to create publicity. MTV has created a show out of Canada called “Over The Bolts”. In this show the media follows the Canadian snowboarding team, so people can get to know them and their stories.

As you can see the media has drawn me into the Olympics with their various stories. The media is also using the Olympics to promote other forms of media. The media has gotten very good at making people, like me; watch what they want me to watch. I am not mad about this at all because they really have me interested in this year’s Olympic Games.